Misty Mountains
by b-blueberry
Summary: Bilbo learns a valuable lesson - he should never let Thorin watch the kids. AU - Modern Setting. One Shot. Tumblr Prompt. Thorin's A Parenting. Domestic Fluff. Established Relationship.


Bilbo was slowly losing his patience.

"Ice cream!" demanded Freya for a hundredth time. "Ice cream, ice cream, ice cream, ice cream!"

"Yes, alright, I heard you."

"I want strawberry!" the five-year-old demanded and when Bilbo sent her an unamused look she added a silent 'please'.

"Do you want me to get it?" Thorin asked when he joined them still holding Frodo's hand. Apparently the last ride they were on proved to be a little too much for the boy.

"No, it's fine. I'll go. You and the boys can stay here. Do you want me to bring you anything?"

"No, I'm good," answered Thorin.

"Alright; Frodo and Frerin, chocolate?" The boys nodded in response. "Sam?"

"Cookies and cream," answered the boy shyly.

"Okay. And you, Thráin? Do you want me to bring you lemon since you are in such a sour mood?" Bilbo teased a little.

"It's too hot!" complained the ten-year-old. "I'm going to die!"

"You'll melt before," commented Thorin while trying to hide a smile as Thráin glared at him.

"It's not funny!"

"You wanted to come here," reminded him Bilbo, "now tell me which ice cream you want me to bring you or you'll really be getting lemon."

Thráin made a face of disgust before he stuck his tongue out to Bilbo. Everyone knew his distaste for sour things and he knew that his parents were only teasing him.

"Can you choose it for me? Just don't bring me lemon," he quickly added. "Or anything sour."

"Freya, let's go." Bilbo offered her his hand before they hurried down the path to find the ice cream stand.

Not even a minute passed before Thráin started to complain as he sat on one of the benches. "When is papa going to be back?"

"He just left. Put your cap back on."

"Why?" whined Thráin. "It's hot. Too hot." Another look from Thorin and the boy did as he was told.

"Would anyone like some water?" Thorin offered, but the boys shook their heads. They haven't been here for long, but all the excitement, all the running and the summer heat has managed to tire them out and Thorin knew they weren't going to last for much longer.

"Dad, look!" Frerin's called and Thorin immediately followed his son's finger. "There are water mists. Can we go there? Please, please, please?"

"Can we?" Thráin was off the bench in a second, pulling Thorin towards the direction of Misty Mountains gardens.

The attraction was nothing special. It was a path through the garden, and since he knew his children well he knew why they insisted on going there. Big old trees offer shadow making it the coolest place in the whole park, and during hot days the water mists are turned on, mainly for the flowers, but it was still a nice way to cool down. At least Thráin would stop complaining for a few minutes.

"Alright, let's go!"

The boys screamed in delight and made a run for it, as Thorin picked Frodo up and followed. The boy still wasn't feeling good and maybe it would help him a little.

"Thráin," called Thorin after his son. "Slow it down a little." Both he and Frerin completely ignored him, running under mist sprays with delight.

"Dad! Can we get something like this at home? It would be so cool!"

"And where would you put it?" asked Thorin as he put Frodo down, and the eight-year-old happily joined Thráin and Frerin under one the of nozzles.

"We can put it in the living room," Frerin suggested. "That way it will always be cool."

"We have air-conditioning for that," reminded him Thorin as he chased the boys. He was actually enjoying this. It was cool, they weren't getting completely wet, and if their delightful screams were anything to go by as they chased one another, his children were enjoying it too.

"Or we could have it in the bathroom," Thráin laughed as he once again escaped Thorin.

"The last time I left you alone, you almost flooded the bathroom."

Thráin offered Thorin one of his not so innocent smiles. "Papa said I could have bubbles."

"But he didn't say you can pour the entire bottle in your bath," Thorin retorted and stopped under the mist. It felt amazing so he closed his eyes for a moment, letting his body cool down.

Not a minute later his phone rang. It was Bilbo, asking him where they were. He didn't have to call twice, it was the promise of ice cream that got the boys running to Bilbo, and Thorin had no other choice but to run after them.

"You all seem in a better mood," commented Bilbo before he once again wiped Freya's fingers and face. That strawberry ice cream was everywhere!

"It's actually a nice way to cool down."

"And dad said we can get one of those sprays at home!" Thráin added.

"That's not such a bad idea," said Bilbo as he gave Thráin his ice cream.

"You're joking, right?" Thorin frowned.

"Why would I be joking? It would be a great way to water my flowers."

"A watering system does that for you," pointed out Thorin. "I don't even remember the last time I saw you in the garden!"

"I was there two days ago, remember?"

"We were having a picnic! On the patio! And you were just laying there while I was entertaining the guest!"

"Well, I wasn't feeling well, mister," said Bilbo angrily as he waved the last ice cream in front of Thorin's nose. "And you know perfectly well why!"

"If you like gardening so much, then why am I paying for a gardener every month?"

Suddenly Bilbo's face went completely blank. "Where is Sam?"

Thorin shook his head, visibly confused by the change of topic. "What?"

"Thorin, where is Sam?" Bilbo repeated once again, panic settling in his voice.

"He's right…" Thorin looked around, trying to find the eight-year-old. "He's not here."

"You lost a child!" Bilbo exploded. "How could you lose a child, Thorin? All I asked you to do was to keep an eye on them and you couldn't even do that! Bell is going to kill me! What will she think of me once she finds out I lost her son? I promised to take care of him!"

Thorin grabbed Bilbo's arms, forcing him to calm down. "Can you please stop panicking? We'll find him, okay. He couldn't go far. We'll find him."

"What if something happened to him, Thorin? Then what? You don't even realize how big responsibility it is to watch over someone else's child!"

"I know how big responsibility it is!" bellowed Thorin, attracting a few looks from the people around them. "I agreed to take Frodo in, didn't I? Even though I was scared shitless about raising a child that wasn't my own. You have no right to tell me I don't understand."

Bilbo let out a breath. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it. I'm just…"

"I know. Don't worry, we'll find him." He looked at his children. "When was the last time any of you saw Sam?"

"When papa was getting ice cream," answered Frerin. "He was here."

"And after that? Did anyone see him after that?"

Thráin shook his head. "He wasn't with us when we left Misty Mountains."

"So he must have disappeared between that time," concluded Bilbo. "He wasn't with me and Freya when we left, I would have noticed."

"What if someone took him?" suggested Frerin and before Bilbo could panic Thorin intervened.

"No one took him. He got lost, we'll find him."

"We should split."

"No, we're staying together. No running away, we stay together and we look for Sam."

Bilbo took his daughter's hand in his and together they followed Thorin and the boys into the Misty Mountains. It was cool, Bilbo had to admit that, but it was also kind of scary, with all the fog and shadows, and some trees looked really creepy, and what if Sam got scared? What if the boy was all alone, crying for his parents because he got lost? Just thinking about it sent shivers down Bilbo's spine. They needed to find him and they needed to find him fast.

"Sam!"

"Sam!"

"Sam!"

"He's not here. Thorin, we need to ask for help."

"Okay. I'll find one of the officers, you continue searching. If you find him, you call me immediately, okay?"

Bilbo nodded before he pressed a quick kiss to Thorin's lips.

"We'll find him," assured him Thorin for a hundredth time. "Stop worrying."

"You know I can't. Should I call Bell? Tell here what's going on? I think I should call her," rambled Bilbo.

"Give us another half hour. If we don't find him I'll call her myself."

"Alright."

Thorin was about to head out when Frerin and Thráin called after Frodo.

"Frodo!" Bilbo immediately called after the boy when he saw that he was running away. "Frodo!"

Before he could stop them Frerin and Thráin ran after Frodo. "Thráin, Frerin, stop this instant!"

The twins ignored him completely. When Freya saw her brothers, she tried to make a run for it too, but she was too slow and Bilbo quickly caught her and scooped her up while Thorin went after the boys.

Thorin was already scolding them when Bilbo and Freya joined them.

"What did we tell you about running away like that?"

"We're sorry," apologized Frerin for both of them, but refused to meet Thorin's eyes.

"No running away from us anymore, is that clear? We already lost Sam you-"

"Thorin," interrupted Bilbo.

"-don't want to get lost too."

"Thorin," repeated Bilbo.

"What?"

"Look." Thorin followed Bilbo's pointed finger and… There they were. Frodo, holding Sam's hand, guiding him back to the group.

Bilbo approached them and pulled both into a hug. "I was so worried. What were you thinking, disappearing like that?"

"I needed to use a toilet," silently admitted Sam.

"Next time you have to tell us first. I almost had a heart attack when I noticed you disappeared. But I'm glad that you are okay. We all are," added Bilbo.

"I'm just glad I don't have to call Bell," Thorin muttered loud enough for Bilbo to hear. "That woman would skin me alive is she found out I lost him."

The children were happy that they were once again together so Bilbo turned to Thorin. "We're still telling her."

"No, we're not," Thorin protested.

"Yes, we are."

"No, we're not."

"Oh yes, we are," smiled Bilbo teasingly and went after the boys.

"Honey, please, let's talk about it."

Bilbo offered him one of his cheeky smiles, but otherwise completely ignored him. They would negotiate it later.

In private.

* * *

Author's notes:

All mistakes are mine.

If you're visiting/vacationing with your friends/family a place you don't know, always agree on a meeting point in case one of you gets lost. That way you'll be able to find each other if technology (phone) accidentally fails.


End file.
